Diseased mitral and tricuspid valves frequently need replacement or repair. The mitral and tricuspid valve leaflets or supporting chordae may degenerate and weaken or the annulus may dilate leading to valve leak. Mitral and tricuspid valve replacement and repair are frequently performed with aid of an annuloplasty ring, used to reduce the diameter of the annulus, or modify the geometry of the annulus in any other way, or aid as a generally supporting structure during the valve replacement or repair procedure. Such annuloplasty rings or other annuloplasty implants or cardiac valve implants in general such as replacement valves, are put into position by various tools.
WO2012/027500 discloses an annuloplasty ring that is ejected out of a catheter by means of a pusher tool. It is also disclosed that the annuloplasty ring is attached to the delivery system by a wire that can be pulled to direct the tip of the implant.
A problem with prior art delivery devices is lack of steerability or maneuverability of the implant, thereby increasing the amount of manipulation of the implant both during the positioning phase and during repositioning to get the implant in the correct position, which may lead to a more complicated and time consuming procedure. During heart surgery, a premium is placed on reducing the amount of time used to replace and repair valves as the heart is frequently arrested and without perfusion.
A problem with prior art devices is also the time consuming attachment or detachment of the annuloplasty device, also referred to as the cardiac valve implant, or simply implant below, to the delivery or retrieval device, e.g. by using sutures. It would therefore be very useful to have a medical device for holding the implant to be positioned that can be quickly attached or detached to such implant. If repositioning of the cardiac valve implant becomes necessary it is also critical that the retrieval device can engage the implant easily and quickly.
A further problem with prior art devices is less-than-optimal engagement mechanisms between the implant and the delivery wire that does not provides sufficient reliability and/or requires exact, i.e. time consuming, navigation and manipulation before final securement is achieved.
The above problems may have dire consequences for the patient and the health care system. Patient risk is increased.
Hence, an improved medical device for delivering and retrieving a cardiac valve implant would be advantageous and in particular allowing for increased maneuverability, reducing the time of lengthy surgery procedures, cost-effectiveness, and increased patient safety. Also, a kit comprising such device and an annuloplasty implant would be advantageous.